Does a protein skimmer use up more water?

[jassz]

Well, this has been a day of enlightenment.

I did put some of the media wool (or whatever it's called) in the sump where the overflow return is, partly for filtration and partly to stop the spray that was going everywhere. I didnt' realize it should be changed so frequently. It got icky looking on the underside, so I turned it over for a couple of days, and today I threw it out and replaced it. It was a week old.

I don't know how many pounds of rocks I have. If you saw a picture could you guess? It's quite a bit... I'd guess 200+ but I don't really know. It's only just starting to turn live though, and some of it is still base rock. Do you still think I dont' need a filter? I have crushed coral, not sand. If I remove the filter, will the water stay as clear? (Which, incidently, isn't so clear tonight. I really must get to that filter maintenance tomorrow).

Which brings me to my next question... HOW do you do maintenance on a Fluval 404 cannister filter? It didn't come with instructions as I bought it used, but I figured I would get the instructions when I bought replacment media. But, if I'm NOT buying replacement media because that's a bad idea, hwo exactly do I get inside this thing? I tried to find instructions on the internet, but no luck. Pictures, but no instructions. Do have have to clamp the lines to/from, or is there some sort of shut off mechanism? Would it be better to remove the lines from the tank so it doesn't flood back?

mike mentioned phosphate removal... I bought a square of filter pad that is supposed to remove phosphate. I got it mainly for another tank but never used it. Should I be using it here? I am using treated tap water, not RO water.

As far a flow, I have three sources. There are some pictures of the set up in this thread. http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=52733